Soon after Commencement, the photos began appearing on Drew
Stelljes’ Facebook wall: students in front of the Capitol Building in
Washington D.C., students in hair nets and aprons at D.C. Central Kitchen,
students meeting around conference tables talking animatedly to some of the
country’s leading experts in community engagement.

This year’s D.C. Summer Institute program, which began May
14, has given 43 student fellows two weeks of site visits and sessions with
subject matter experts, followed by full-time internships in the nation’s
capital.

"We knew we could run a successful Summer Institute program,"
said Adam Anthony, director of the William & Mary Washington Office,
"because we have run the successful W&M in Washington semester program
since 2006. Our assistant director, Roxane Adler Hickey, directs both programs
and applies many of the practices and procedures we developed for the semester
to the summer.”

Anthony said that the value of the program lies in three
areas: “the expertise of our professors teaching the subjects they love, the
time our students spend with experts in the field and inside D.C.'s premier
institutions, and, finally, the help they get from a W&M administrator in
finding and managing their internship."

"Our professors and administrators help our students
see and work at the best that D.C. offers -- the State Department, the
CIA, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, the Peace Corps, the White House
-- they're all within reach."

Erin Spencer ’14, an ecology major, is participating in the New Media Institute
this summer. Through the program, she landed an internship with National
Geographic, where she is working in the Travel Digital Media Department.

“So
far, I've had a hand in content editing, social media and online promotion, and
even have my own posts on the National Geographic Intelligent Traveler blog,”
she said.

Spencer
hopes to one day combine her science and media backgrounds to raise awareness
about marine conservation, she said.

“National
Geographic is the perfect place for me to get hands on experience I wouldn't be
able to find on campus,” said Spencer.

Community engagement

The classroom portion of the Community Engagement Institute aimed
“to help students think critically about what makes for successful leaders in
the public sector,” said Stelljes, director of community engagement at William
& Mary.

“Though emphasis is placed on leadership and
followership in the non-profit sector, lessons and examples are drawn from
history, communication studies, education, philosophy, sociology, politics and
the field of social entrepreneurship,” he said.

To complement what the students learned in class during the
first two weeks of the institute, they met with multiple guest speakers. The
list of those speakers reads like a veritable who’s who of leaders in the
community engagement world. Some of them include Jonathan Greenblatt, director
of the White House Office for Social Innovation and Civic Participation; Doug
Bunch B.A. '02, J.D. '06, associate with Cohen Milstein and one of the founders
of Global Playground; former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine; Mike Curtin, CEO of D.C.
Central Kitchen; John Bridgeland, CEO and president of Civic Enterprises; and Aaron
Williams, director of the Peace Corps.

The students also met with U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.),
who posted his own photo of them on Facebook, saying in the caption, “Great to
meet with students from The College of William and Mary's Summer Community
Engagement Institute. They'll do important work at D.C. non-profits this
summer.”

Adriana Green, an English major with a minor in literary and
cultural studies, graduated on May 13 and began attending the institute the
next day.

“Graduation for me meant opportunities and exploration,” she said.
“I just needed to find a place to do those things. I’m not certain where I want
my career or post-graduate learning to take me, so I’d planned on trying
different internships and career paths to see what interests me in the moment.
DCSI provided the perfect opportunity.”

Mimi Laycock, a rising junior with an interest in sociology and
kinesiology, said that one of the most enjoyable aspects of the class for her
was “the people I have met and the advice I have been given.”

“From Jonathan Greenblatt to Mark Curtain, the leaders we have
interacted with have all been open to discussion and willing to speak with us
about their journeys to become public figures in leadership,” she
said. “Additionally, the class has been able to gather enormous amounts of
advice and knowledge, especially from alums. Drew has done a wonderful job
coordinating discussions, lunches, and dinners with alums who are willing to
give us advice on anything from grad politics to sleeping on couches.”

Laycock said that she thinks the institute will teach her not only about
herself but about potential job opportunities, as well.

“I hope to leave D.C. with idea on how to combine my passion for
serving others with a career,” she said. “I can already tell that this
institute will help me be more professional, confidant, and community -service
minded.”

Green, too, hopes that the experience will result in a job for her.

“This experience is actively creatingcareer opportunities for me every day, especially as a recent
graduate,” she said. “I’m staying in the D.C. area and will be looking for
employment in the next six months. Being able to talk one-on-one with the
movers and shakers of the city will definitely help me find opportunities for personal
exploration and growth.”

“This program is without a doubt the reason I’ve begun, and will
continue, to find and thrive in post-graduation opportunities.”